An Exeter motorist is banned from driving for a year after crashing into 60-year-old cyclist while she was training for a competition, causing multiple injuries.
A 23-year-old driver has been handed a community order after knocking a cyclist off her bike in Exeter last summer, writes Isabelle Pinnock, OPCC court reporting scheme.
Charlie Howell, of Woodstock Road, St Loyes, in Exeter, pleaded guilty to causing serious injury by careless or inconsiderate driving from July 26 last year.
At around 8.30 am, the victim was cycling on Pinhoe Road, Exeter, in the opposite direction to Howell, when CCTV shows he crashed into her while turning right at a junction.
Lindsey Baker, prosecuting, said that Howell’s manoeuvre and positioning on the road was unsafe.
The cyclist was taken to the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital for a full-body X-ray and CT scan. She sustained an open fracture and open wound in her right knee, as well as a torn ligament in her left hand, and head trauma including impaired vision.
Howell, representing himself, told the court he stopped after the collision and remained at the scene. He called emergency services and flagged down a St John’s ambulance as it passed.
In a victim impact statement read to the court, the complainant detailed her reliance on friends to help her bathe, get dressed, and attend hospital appointments, as well as the impact the incident has had on her work.
She was told to expect arthritis and to take three months off work. She also expressed concern about the long-term consequences of her head trauma.
The court heard she had been training to take part in a competitive cycling event in Paris next year.
“I always felt a lot younger than my 60 years,” she said. “But lately I’m feeling closer to that.”
Howell has no previous convictions and holds a clean licence. He pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity.
“I accept full responsibility,” he said. “I’m horrified. I don’t have the words for it.”
Sentencing, the Chair of Magistrates told Howell that an offence of this category would usually result in a custodial sentence.
Howell was given a 12-month community order with 180 hours of work. He was banned from driving for 12 months and must pay an £114 surcharge and court costs of £85.
